At long last, I can post again… After a hard disk crash due to a power failure, I decided a couple of weeks ago to upgrade my family house network to devolve my old (but still relatively new) computer to the grandkids who live with us.  Isabel and Manuel are both in school, but love to get on the Disney web site on their mother’s laptop as soon as they can. So, we’re dedicating one machine for their use, and grandpa gets a new PC.  I’ve got the system running, and have reinstalled most of the software…though I still have some to go.  But it’s back to my many projects which I steadily work on…a little at a time but try to progress each week.

• I’ve updated my personal family history software to Family Tree Maker 2011, and am now checking entries for the descendants of Elizabeth Williams, daughter of my 5th-great-grandmother Sobriety Bunker Williams.  It is only Elizabeth’s descendants I have to update and I’ll be ready to do a new CD version of my 1996 work, Descendants of Sobriety Bunker, which was produced in print form for the Bunker Family Association. I hope to have the new CD available by Christmas, adding to the two CDs compiled by Bette Bunker Richards.  Those CDs continue to be available for purchase.   The Sobriety Bunker CD will extend the information on Sobriety Bunker’s family, some of which is contained on Bette’s first, tracing the Devon Bunkers.

• Bette’s data bases are maintained in The Master Genealogist, which I also use. So Bette asked that I install a backup of the BFA data bases on my network.  As major updates to those occur,  we will continue to maintain remote backups.

• Reinstalling a scanner this weekend will allow me to continue working on another CD publication, which will be an electronic version of the back issues of the Bunker Banner, the newsletter of the Bunker Family Association. The Association was founded in 1913, but the Banner was first published in 1971. BFA members Ruth Bunker Christensen, Edward F. Cooper, and Gil and Carole Bunker were editors in the first 25 years of the Banner’s history. Gil and Carole continued to share the production duties of the Banner thereafter until Carol’s death in 2009, and Gil has continued with the Banner editorial duties in addition to his role as BFA President.  Hopefully the production of this CD will allow Gill to clean out some paper copies of older Banner issues.

Please continue to use the Bunker e-mail list at Rootsweb as it is the easiest way to exchange and obtain information.  If you are interested in subscribing but don’t know how, instructions are on the e-mail page on this blog. Or you can send an e-mail to me:  doug.detling@gmail.com.

Photographs on the Bunker Family Association photo site have shown the general area of the Bunker graveyard in Durham, New Hampshire.  Several years ago, BFA President Gil Bunker prepared a chart of the graves, outlining what is known about individual burials, and also speculating about others.  The chart has been converted to a PDF file, and may be downloaded here.  You will need Adobe Acrobat or some other software to permit viewing the file.

Bunker graveyard [PDF]

Maralyn Anderson shared her candid shots from the Bunker Family Reunion in San Diego last month, and gave permission for me to share them. The site is organized by date, so look for the BFA reunion album in 2010;  The album also includes photos take by hostess (and BFA historian) Bette Bunker Richards. From these photos, it’s obvious those who couldn’t attend missed a long of fun.

The Bunker Family Association’s shared photo gallery has been moved to a new web address due to a change in ownership of the previous site. The new address for the photo gallery is:

https://douglasdetling.smugmug.com/BFA.

Although in the future visitors may not be required to enter a password or register, for the time being visitors will need this password to enter the BFA’s photo gallery: CND_BunkY!

Murray Reid of Auckland, New Zealand posted a note on the Bunker list at Rootsweb that I thought was worth sharing on the Bunker web site:

I have recently read Thomas Keneally’s latest book Australians-Origins to Eureka.  This is a major publication covering the first 70 years of Europeans in Australia. I was very surprised to see that there is only one short, and not very complimentary, sentence devoted to Eber Bunker. I would have thought he deserved more.

BFA genealogist Bette Bunker Richards commented back:

… Sometimes when people do not leave male descendants the family is sort of forgotten and that seems like what this author has done to the “father” of New Zealand whaling.

For several years now, the Bunker Family Association’s reunion photos — candids, not the formal portrait usually produced — have been posted in albums on the web master’s photo site.  That isn’t what’s changing. What has changed is that the albums at the Greencity site maintained by Doug Detling will no longer be password protected.

It simply got to be too confusing to maintain separate “album” sites for the Bunker Family Association, my various Roblee relatives who have been taking pictures of cemeteries,  etc.  So what I’m doing is making albums accessible without passwords to folks who are willing to scan the photo albums looking for things of interest.   Albums are accessible to anyone who wishes to visit at greencity.phanfare.com.  Feel free to visit.

Milt Butcher passed along news that a Bunker train was won with a mail-in raffle ticket by Lewis Bunker of St.Ignace, Michigan. Congratulations.

To view Bette Richards’ pix from the San Diego BFA reunion this past week, you may visit:

http://greencity.phanfare.com/bfa/4722090

The site is password protected. If you don’t know the password, please send me an e-mail:

doug.detling@gmail.com

A reunion of Bunker descendants is planned to coincide with the 200th year celebrations of Bunker’s Cottage at the Collingwood Estate in Australia.

The aim of this a daylong event is to have the largest gathering of Bunker descendants in the Southern Hemisphere, and a photographic record taken. And of course, to met up with other descendants and to have fun!

How to get involved:

Pre-event

We are looking to collect copies of family histories and photographs, documents such as birth and death certificates, family tree charts, oral histories, interesting anecdotes, and photographs of artifacts relating to the Bunker descendants. In particular, we are chasing information from the Booth, Cartwright, Clarke, Larkin and Tomlinson family connections. All information received will be kept in confidence should you desire it.
If you can spare some time to help collate information, we would love to have you assist.

Remember this is your day and we won?t be around to celebrate the 300-year anniversary in 2110.

On the day
Helpers are required to help set up displays in the morning and to man three family booths (Mary
Ann, Charlotte and Isabella family lines). Again, all offers of help are greatly appreciated.

Watercolour Eber Bunker c1810 ?? Mitchell Library Collection

Details of celebrations:
Date: Saturday 29 May 2010
Time: 10am – 4pm
Venue: Collingwood Estate
Address: Congressional Drive, Liverpool
Bunker Talk: 1.00pm
Bunker family group photograph: about 1.30pm

Mark this date in your diary. Your formal invitation will be sent out in early 2010. However we would, if possible, prefer an early indication of how many are thinking of attending. Also, please let us know of anybody that should included in the invitation list.

The Friends of Collingwood House are hosting an Open Day on the same day to celebrate the bicentenary of Collingwood House, commencing 10am. The Friends are planning to have the house open for inspection, activities such as Colonial crafts and children?s games, and refreshments available.

We hope you and your family and friends can join with us in the celebrations on the 29th. Remember to bring your best smiles with you.

Kindest regards
Vicki and Duncan
Contact Details:
Vicki Andrews
72 Kent Street Minto NSW 2566
Ph: 02 9603 4589 ?? Mob: 0401 927 183 ?? Email: vickia@swiftdsl.com.au
Duncan Stewart
Email: jste6306@bigpond.net.au

Bette Bunker Richards, BFA genealogist and hostess for the 2010 reunion in San Diego, posted the following update to the Bunker list at rootsweb:

It is time to think about our reunion again.  The one in 2010 will be different from any we have had before.  We will be going to San Diego, CA and staying at the Holiday Inn Bayside, www.holinnbayside.com.  It has a restaurant on-site, a 9 hole putting green, swimming pool, Jacuzzi, billiards, shuffleboard, ping pong, and free bike use.  Across the street is the Point Loma Harbor with lots of boats, boat rental service, deep sea fishing rentals and a top notch seafood restaurant.  Our hospitality and banquet room has a balcony that overlooks the harbor.  There is a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel and there is free parking for those that bring their own car.  That is just the beginning.

We will be going sailing!  We will visit the Maritime Museum, www.sdmaritime.com, with its exhibits on the “Star of India”, schooner; the steam ferry boat, “Berkeley”; the harbor pilot boat, the 1904 steam yacht, “Medea”; a Russian submarine, an American submarine and more.  Saturday afternoon, we will go sailing for four hours on CALIFORNIAN, a replica of an 1800s revenue cutter.

Of course, we are also just a few minutes from Sea World, www.seaworld.com/sandiego/; San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park with its many museums, www.balboapark.org/ and old town San Diego.  Next door to the Maritime Museum is the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum, www.midway.org/hours-tickets.

And then we are going to have a pirate party!  Everyone is expected to wear a pirate costume.  Think George Washington for the right era.  However, all sailors wore tight clothes on board as loose clothing would get caught in the riggings.  So knee-length pants and a T-shirt are authentic too.  The men also wore long pants that could be rolled up to the knee and hip length vests to keep warm.  Either a tri-corn hat (on shore) or a knitted watch-cap (on board) was worn by the sailors.  On board they usually went barefoot or in their stocking feet, as it was easier to climb without shoes. Most sailors wore dull colored long stockings but pirates were known for wearing striped ones.   Female pirates wore the same clothing as the men on board and long dresses on shore.  For costumes try your local after-Halloween sales or www.orientaltrading.com.  People without proper pirate clothing just might be forced to walk the plank by our “short” pirates.  (Glow pirate “cutlasses” will be supplied for all the kids so be sure to tell me how many are coming so I can order one for each child).  Also, watch out for those pirates who want to take all your valuables or make you walk the plank.  (Beads and gold coins will be provided for all adults).

Warning: pirates who let their beards get scruffy may have to deal with their irate wives.

Practice your arrrrghs and be ready for a great time in San Diego June 16-20, 2010.  See you there.  Registration blank will be in the November Banner and online (see link below).  Early reservations are needed to sail on the sailboat to be sure everyone gets on board and for the group tour price we are getting so send your reservations in no later than May 1, 2010.

See you there.

Registration form [PDF]

Bunker Family Association genealogist Bette Bunker Richards recently sent an e-mail message to our Bunker mailing list on Rootsweb that I thought was worth posting to the website:

I keep several databases for the BFA.  One is old and is not regularly updated except for the unconnected Bunkers in it.  These are Bunkers who have not been connected to the two English branches that we know about, Devon and Bedfordshire.  In this database there are many duplicates and some old records for the Devon and Beds Bunkers.  There are more than 34,000 people entered in that database.

The Devon database, which includes the descendants of James of New Hampshire and the Modbury Bunkers, and anyone other family whose DNA indicates they are related to this branch, contains 17,200 people.  This is up to date and has few, if any, duplicates.

The Beds database which includes all of Roger of Tingrith’s descendants that we know about including the Nantucket and Charleston American Bunkers and those who match with the DNA, includes 7,800 people.

Our UK database has people that we cannot connect to the Beds and Devon Bunkers and is up to date with 2,900 records.

When someone asks me about an ancestor, I search all the databases.  I am searching through about 62,000 people.  Some people have more than one name so I am looking at about 80,000 names when I search for someone’s ancestors.

We use The Master Genealogist program and it is good but we still have to sort through about 1,000 George Bunkers, 800 William Bunkers, 700 Joseph Bunkers, 1,000 Elizabeth Bunkers and 1,000 Mary Bunkers.  Can you imagine doing that on paper?  Aren’t we lucky that we have computers?

This is why it is so important that you give me all the information you have when you ask questions, even if it is only a guess.  In addition to our own databases, I search through several online ones to try to find your ancestors and up date all the information I can find.  It is also why we ask that you share the information that you have.  Certainly, we have more information about Bunkers than anyone else in the world, but every day I learn something new.  And I really do appreciate your help.